Winner of prestigious Olive Cotton Award announced

Tweed Regional Gallery hosts prize for photographic portraiture the road. e Drover’s Daughter o ers a rare insight into life in the outback.

Regardless of drought or ood, cold or heat, the Kemp family lived in a caravan or out of the back of a truck, always pulling up stumps to make it to the next campsite with their army of workers, dogs, horses and of course, the livestock they were delivering to some outback station.

Smoko was on the roadside and lamb chops would be grilled over the open re on an upside-down camp oven lid.

A treat was going to the annual agricultural show and chores such as building sheep breaks, collecting rewood and packing up camp were part of the regular routine of the Kemp children’s lives.

A school education wasn’t given priority, but education in life was and Patsy’s story tells of the resilience of the children and how living a drover’s life made them tough for whatever came their way.

Keep an eye on this column for a review of Patsy’s follow up book e Drover’s Daughter Rides Again

You can buy your copy online from www.patsykempdrover. com

Artist Gerwyn Davies’ portrait Replica has won the $20,000 overall prize for the 2023 Olive Cotton Award.

The announcement was made in an offcial opening and presentation ceremony at Tweed Regional Gallery, Murwillumbah on Saturday night (15 July).

The ceremony was attended by many of this year’s fnalists who travelled from across the country to join in the celebrations. The event was also livestreamed for those who could not attend.

Davies’ Replica was selected as the winning portrait from a feld of 72 fnalists, including emerging and established photographers from around Australia. Davies is the 12th artist to win the Award, which was frst presented in 2005.

The Award was judged by artist, curator and critic Dr Daniel Mudie Cunningham. Dr Mudie Cunningham visited the Gallery on Friday 14 July to view all works installed before making his fnal decision.

Dr Mudie Cunningham noted “hiding is not something we associate with portraiture. A conventional portrait requires a subject’s presence and disclosure to connect with the world”.

“Gerwyn Davies is keenly aware that revelation is central to portraiture and photography, and in Replica he engages with queer visibility politics to interrogate what it means to be seen and unseen, to appear and disappear. Camoufaged within an inventive tableau made from costuming, props, and partially harnessing new AI technologies, of the Friends of Tweed Regional Gallery and Margaret Olley Art Centre Inc., Ferne Millen’s No Labels Required, a portrait of Dr Todd Fernando, was acquired for the Gallery’s collection, with Director Susi Muddiman OAM awarding it the 2023 change”. he creates a clever and joyous image that speaks to art history and narratives of place and time, with conceptual and aesthetic rigour”.

Ms Muddiman also singled out the following works as deserving special attention: Stephen Dupont’s You should take it this way! 2022: A portrait of David Field; Dane Beesley’s Home; Vedika Rampal’s My mother dreams of Ghalib, Matthew Thorne’s Warren Ellis in his garden in Paris 2022, Jaka Adamic’s Chaos / Portrait of Toby, Riste Andrievski’s William Yang, Andrea Francolini’s I am what I am, and Gary Grealy’s Jude Rae_Artist.

Visitors to the Olive Cotton Award exhibition can cast their own vote in the People’s Choice Award. The fnalist with the most votes will receive $500. The exhibition will run until Sunday 24 September 2021.

The Gallery is open Wednesdays to Sundays from 10 am to 5 pm (closed Mondays and Tuesdays). Entry to view the exhibition is free.

Dr Mudie Cunningham also Highly Commended Vedika Rampal’s My mother dreams of Ghalib and Meng-Yu Yan’s Another Ruin VI.

Thanks to the generosity

Director’s Choice.

Ms Muddiman said “This work grabbed my attention. The composition and narrative is strong. In creating a photo shoot for her portrait, Ferne frames a sense of potent, positive change. This is a portrait of a proud subject, within a portrait of our society on the brink of hopeful

A full list of fnalists is available on the Gallery’s website at https:// artgallery.tweed.nsw.gov. au/PrizesAndAwards/ OliveCotton.

A strong showing of more than 600 entries were received this year for the biennial award, which is funded by Olive Cotton’s family and dedicated to her memory as one of Australia’s leading 20th Century photographers.